Deep Earth Lab: artist residency
Photo North provided Deep lab and residency at deepest base metal mine Pyhäsalmi on Europe and access to the 1,444-metre depth. The Pyhäsalmi Mine, opened in 1962 and produced copper and zinc. Active underground mining operations ended in fall 2022, and the local community now faces structural change. The mine continues processing tailings of mining and dismantling mining infrastructure. It is example of change of industrial infrastructures purpose from mining activities towards novel uses of renewable energy and being developed into a massive pump energy storage and solar energy station, with the aim of creating one of the largest energy reserve in Finland in the future, to balance fluctuating electricity markets by providing energy on times of high energy demand and prizes,
Callio Lab, research and development center, hosted research and development activities within Deep Lab . The Callio Lab, plays a vital role in multidisciplinary research providing support and infrastructure connected to Pyhäsalmi mine, contributing from space research, particle physics, robot testing, food production to rescue training in extreme deep conditions. Building possibility for sustainable futures from the underground up surface.
Collaboration with Callio Lab provided views and opportunities for art and research across an extensive range of fields including extreme environmental conditions, geology, underground life, space research, particle physics, analogue astronautics, industrial transformation, underground safety, security and testing, view to biological arts, renewable energy (geothermal and hydroelectric),remote sensing, food production to rescue training, and more in extreme deep conditions. The site allowed study of the impact of the mine and its closure on the local population, the nature and the vitality of the area.
Coordinator: Antti Tenetz and Taija Jyrkäs
LAB Participants: Alma Heikkilä, Emmi Itäranta, Jari Joutsenvaara,Tero Toivanen, Eriz Moreno, Tuomo Kangasmaa, and Kai Loo.
Residency artist Felicia Honkasalo: May-August 2023.
Lab: May 15-19, 2023.
Residency: May-August 2023.
Location: Pyhäsalmi Mine and village of Ruotanen, Finland.
The Lab and residency were organized in in collaboration with Calliolab research unit, Oulu University, Pyhäsalmi Mine, Callio development company, and Ruotanen village association Finland.
Artwork: Felicia Honkasalo's video Spectral Lands (2024)
Felicia Honkasalo's video Spectral Lands (2024) explores complex questions about labor, community, survival, and adaptation to the changes around us. is set in the town of Pyhäjärvi, which owes its existence to the operation of the Pyhäsalmi Mine. By extracting and refining the earth's ancient mineral wealth, these industries have not only driven technological development and economic growth, but also created a global trade network linking distant regions through the exchange of metals and natural resources - a process that has shaped the way our societies and cultures function and are structured. Dark drive for profit is altering the landscape, disrupting ecosystems and accelerating natural geological change on a planetary scale. Honkasalo highlights humanity's profound capacity to transform the planet, tracing the complex links between local actions and global consequences, and illuminating the intertwining of human desire and geological history. Spectral Lands is the second work commissioned for the More-than-Planet project and was created as part of the Deep residency at Pyhäsalmi Mine.